CJP protest highlights: Sonam Wangchuk ends hunger strike after 26 days with Nadda, Jitendra Singh by his side

Protesters during the ongoing protest over the alleged NEET-UG examination irregularities at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, July 23, 2026.

CJP protest highlights: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that INDIA bloc leaders were heading to Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg to express solidarity with students protesting over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak. This live blog has ended. For latest updates on the Jantar Mantar protest, click here.

In a post on X after an INDIA bloc meeting at his residence, Gandhi said the Opposition stood with students who were injured during the police action on July 20 and reiterated its support for their demands.

Buses carrying INDIA bloc MPs, including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, arrived at Gandhi Smriti in Delhi on Thursday.

The leaders reached the memorial together amid the Opposition's ongoing political mobilisation.

Dipke's request to PM Modi

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founding president Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accept Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, warning that the protests would escalate if the demand was ignored.

Addressing the media in Delhi, Dipke said the agitation would no longer remain limited to seeking Pradhan's resignation if the Centre failed to act.

"Modi ji, I once again request you to accept Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. Otherwise, the issue will not remain limited to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation alone; it will come for your resignation also," he said.

Internet shutdown in Central Delhi

The internet shutdown order issued to telecom service providers on July 23 was initially extended until 4:30 pm.

Authorities have now extended the suspension further, with internet services set to remain suspended until midnight.

Tight security measures continued at the Jantar Mantar with a contingent of police deployed at the site, a day after tensions escalated again amid the ongoing protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). 16 metro stations were closed from 7.30 am till further instructions, DMRC said on Thursday.

These include Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House, Central Secretariat and Supreme Court metro stations. The DMRC a day earlier too shut 16 metro stations.

The CJP early on Thursday claimed the Delhi Police had parked a “totally damaged car” outside the protest site, questioning their intention. “Everyone should remember this car has been brought here in this condition - important to record before they can blame it on peaceful protesters,” the CJP said, sharing visuals of the vehicle, which was seen with its windows and windshield shattered.

While the protest site had remained largely peaceful on Wednesday, tensions escalated on the Sansad Marg stretch, with clashes breaking out between protesters and police. While security personnel used tear gas shells for protesters who had spilled on to Sansad Marg, the protesters pelted stones at police personnel and chased them on the main radial road of Connaught Place. According to the Delhi Police, at least five cops - 2 ACPs, one inspector, one head constable and one constable, were injured in the fresh tensions.

The CJP on Wednesday also alleged that internet services were shut down around Jantar Mantar, asking whether the government was preparing for another police crackdown. “Internet service shutdown at Jantar Mantar. Govt planning another brutal crackdown?” CJP convenor Abhijeet Dipke said in a post on X. In another post, Dipke appealed to police and paramilitary forces to not “obey illegal orders that ask you to beat up innocent protesters.”

CJP spokesperson Saurav Das reiterated the demand for union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, saying it was non-negotiable. Das said he had spoken to activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on an indefinite fast and is at the Medanta Hospital, several times.

Das said the conclusion was that the protest remain peaceful, and be conducted “in a right manner.” “Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation is non-negotiable. Without this, the protest will continue,” Das said.

Wangchuk says govt assured demand will be considered ‘positively’

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Wednesday claimed that union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh met him and assured that the government would "positively consider" a Parliament discussion to ensure accountability over paper leaks, including the resignation of the education minister. He said the government had assured it would also consider adequate compensation for the families of students who died by suicide following the alleged NEET paper leak.

However, Wangchuk said he would end his hunger strike only if the government gave an "unequivocal assurance" that no student or protester who participated in the anti-NEET movement would face punitive or retaliatory legal action.

‘No discussion on paper leaks till education minister resigns’

While the government underscored its willingness to hold a discussion on paper leaks in Parliament, the Opposition demanded the resignation of union education minister Pradhan. “There will be no discussion on the issue till the education minister resigns…It cannot be a fair discussion till he resigns,” Congress chief and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said.

The opposition MPs, meanwhile, held protests wearing black clothes against the government on Parliament premises. People aware of the matter said the government accused the Opposition of politicising the ongoing student’s stir and said it was shifting “goalposts”, asserting that its doors for dialogue with those leading the protests were “always open”.